


Savior

by Dragonlingdar



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 20:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19448920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonlingdar/pseuds/Dragonlingdar
Summary: With the death of her father, Mattias knew that Lianna was ready to accept him as her Savior.





	Savior

**Author's Note:**

  * For [evoboo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/evoboo/gifts).



> So...it's not quite Mattias & Simeon, as you requested in one of your prompts but at least it's one of them?
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Because I am a holdover from the dark ages of fandom: Octopath Traveler doesn't belong to me.

Mattias tracked Ophilia’s journey carefully. He watched how she approached problems, how she interacted with people, and knew that her faith burned too brightly for him to be anything but a passing shadow. He would never win her over to assist him, would never be able to find the right honeyed words to make  _ her _ his vestal. Her sister, however, was a weaker, more fearful person.  _ She _ was someone he could convince to assist him in reviving and empowering Galdera. He merely had to show her that he could be her savior and release her from the emptiness of her sorrow. 

The funeral for Archbishop Josef was a somber affair, and one that Mattias was glad Ophilia was missing. The pious young woman starting her journey at her father’s behest instead of waiting to see whether or not he would recover from his... _ illness... _ had been quite the windfall. Ophilia’s absence had allowed Mattias to hasten the Archbishop’s demise, and his swift descent into death only served to drive Lianna deeper into a despair that only Mattias--and Galdera--would be able to alleviate.

The normal white robes of the church Lianna wore had been replaced with the black of mourning. She stood aside, consumed in the shadow of a statue, trapped in her misery. Her eyes were downcast, her posture closed off, her hands clasped tightly enough that her knuckles were white, and the smile she gave those who visited her to pay their condolences was weak at best, her eyes watery, even if her voice was remarkably steady. 

To Mattias’ delight, Lianna was merely a side-note in the ceremony, mentioned only in Josef’s obituary as one of his surviving daughters. The Pontiff presided over the funeral itself, and droves of people had come to Flamesgrace from as far as Saintsbridge to pay respect to the Archbishop who had been their shepherd and solace for decades. One by one, guided by lesser clerics, the rabble were allowed to pass before the casket and offer their prayers to the Sacred Flame for Josef’s safe travel into the afterlife and peace for the man who had brought peace to so many others in their time of trouble.

_ And yet, his advice so rarely proved either helpful or fruitful, _ Mattias thought as he hung back.  _ What does the Flame truly do? What influence do the gods have? I  _ know _ Galdera exists, I wield a shard of his power in this world. Where are the others? Aelfric exists only as a flame, and nothing more. Flame burns as easily as it warms. Perhaps that is why destruction and death are allowed to continue to run rampant in this world. The brighter the light, the deeper the darkness. _

Mattias slowly made his way over to Lianna, and stood next to her in silence, merely observing her grief.

_ She may be bereaved enough for my words to have impact; perhaps she is now caught firmly enough in the grips of despair to be pliant, _ Mattias thought as Lianna tried to covertly wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her robe and erase any sign that her father’s death affected her as deeply as it did.  _ I must take care, though. Pressing too hard or too quickly will make her skittish. I am  _ tired _ of waiting to receive the true might and power of Galdera, that I may save the world from its suffering, and she is my best chance at accomplishing that. _

“It’s truly a tragedy,” he said softly enough to catch Lianna’s attention without startling her. “It must be horrible for you. He loved you so very, very much.”

“And I loved him,” Lianna responded. “My heart aches from how much I already miss him.” 

Lianna smiled, but the expression was wan and sad. “Strange, isn’t it? I still wake, expecting to see him at breakfast, or walking the halls, or presiding over a service. Instead, everything is so...still. So cold. It’s all... _ empty _ without him.”

“Death comes for us all,” Mattias said. “Cruel and swift, caring not for those left behind in sorrow. How cold are the gods to allow for such upstanding and kind people to be taken? Do they not know the peace and happiness he brought to so many? Why? Why take  _ him _ away?”

Tears gathered in Lianna’s eyes and her cheeks flushed with emotion. “Father...Father served the Flame so devoutly. I prayed so,  _ so _ hard for him to regain his health. Why wasn’t he healed? Why did the grace of the gods fail me? Did they not hear me?”

Mattias gently put an arm around Lianna, who curled in on herself. “There should be a way to bring them back, those who were called to death too soon,” Mattias murmured.

“There should!” Lianna quietly sobbed. “There  _ should _ be…”

Mattias simply held Lianna as she shook, her face buried in her hands, her sniffles lost in the prayers and music of the funeral rights.

“What if I told you...that there might be a way?” Mattias said once Lianna had recovered most of her composure.

“W-what?” Lianna asked, looking quickly to him. “But, such a thing isn’t possible.”

“Nothing is  _ impossible _ , Lianna,” Mattias replied, keeping his voice soft. 

“Do you know a way?” Lianna pressed.

“I have an idea,” Mattias responded. “I think I may know how to bring your  _ dear _ father back.”

Lianna grasped at his jacket. “Tell me! I can’t...I can’t...”

Mattias gently stroked Lianna’s hair and shushed her. “Let us see your father interred, and then we shall speak.”

Pain formed on Lianna’s face once more. “Why can’t you tell me now? Why can’t I...why can’t he just be brought back here? Now?”

“Would people truly believe it was your father?” Mattias asked. “Or would they kill him, thinking him some sort of unholy abomination? Surely you don’t want to return your father to the living only to see the very people he swore to protect and guide put him back in his grave.”

Lianna nodded slightly. “You...you’re right.”

They watched the procession in silence and followed it to the graveyard near the church, where Josef was placed inside a sepulcher with ceremony and care. Lianna cried silently during the entire process and Mattias held her close; she seemed to take comfort in his presence and supposed sympathy. 

Once the crowd had dispersed, they returned to the Church and broke away into the residential quarters attached to the Cathedral. 

“Tell me!” Lianna said and whirled on Mattias once they were in private. “Tell me how I can return Father to me!”

Mattias placed his hands on her shoulders and said, “If the gods will not grant their power to us, then we shall steal it from them.”

“Steal it?”

“The ember your sister carries holds a piece of Aelfric’s power,” Mattias explained. “I know a way that we might be able to harness it. With its power...it is entirely possible to bring your father back.”

“Ophilia will never surrender the Flame!” Lianna responded. “She’s...she cares about Father, but she is too busy, she doesn’t know...doesn’t know this  _ feeling _ .”

“If she will not surrender it, we will-- _ you  _ will--simply have to take it from her.”

“Take it…?”

“She trusts you, Lianna,” Mattias said and gently stroked her cheek. “Once we have Aelfric’s power, your wish for your father to come back will surely come true.”

“You’re certain?” Lianna asked, doubt creeping into her eyes.

“Will you let a chance to see your father returned to you pass by? Let me give you this much hope, let me save you from your despair. As long as you help me, you can revive your father, who was wrenched from life--from  _ you-- _ far, far too soon.”

He watched her resistance crumble and she gave a slow, resolute nod. “He will really come back?” she asked, her voice small. “If I help you, if we do this...he shall return?”

“With the power of Aelfric’s flame and Galdera’s might, there is no way that he won’t,” Mattias lied, smiling. 


End file.
